Wipeout
by Wenwalke
Summary: Danny doesn't get it, if Steve wiped out, how come he's the one that's hurt?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This story is my attempt at the wipeout prompt from LisaG16, I hope you all like it. If you are looking for a plot, there isn't one, unless whumping Danny big time, and Steve a little, can be called a plot. A big thanks to rewob17 for the beta, and Topazicatzbeth for the encouragement.

**Summary:** Danny doesn't get it, if Steve wiped out, how come he's the one that's hurt?

**Chapter One**

Danny, Steve, and Kono had decided that surfing was a good way to spend their day off so they drove out to a quiet beach that only the locals knew about, evidenced by the fact that it was deserted when they arrived at, to Danny, the ungodly hour of 6 am.

The surfing was great for the first hour or so, until Steve wiped out. Danny couldn't understand what had happened. One minute Steve was up on his board, riding the wave, the next he was gone.

Kono had been watching and filming from the beach, as she'd already ridden in on the wave ahead of Steve. Danny was sitting on his board waiting for the next wave.

Danny made it to Steve before Kono was even in the water. There was blood on the side of Steve's head, and he was unresponsive. With a superhuman effort, Danny managed to pull Steve onto his board in front of him. A quick check showed that Steve was still breathing, but his pulse was slow.

Kono stopped on seeing Danny pull Steve onto his board, but now she was waving frantically and yelling. Danny couldn't hear above the roar of the surf. It was then he realised that they'd drifted towards the rocks at the side of the beach, and the roar was the waves hitting the rocks.

Danny removed his board's strap from his leg and slid into the water, where he also removed Steve's leg strap allowing that board to float away. He then got behind his board and frenetically kicked to propel the board towards the shore, away from the rocks.

Kono was swimming as fast as she could towards her two teammates, she knew the danger the rocks represented.

They'd almost made it to Kono when Danny felt the undertow grab him. He just had time to give the surf board a final push before he was pulled under.

Kono lunged forward and managed to grab Danny's board, pulling Steve to the safety of the beach. She checked Steve quickly to assure herself that he was breathing then ran back to the water's edge to find Danny.

Danny flipped over and over with no control as the undertow drove him towards the rocks. He managed to surface and suck in some much needed air before the water literally threw him onto the rocks, then dragged him back out again.

The impact caused him to expel the air he'd managed to drag in and his next breath was a mouth full of water. Spluttering he managed to surface again and this time when he hit the rocks he held on for dear life. He thought he heard a voice yelling at him; it sounded like his friend Billy but that couldn't be. His grip on the rock tightened, he didn't want to die like Billy. He had too much to live for.

Kono saw Danny surface and hit the rocks, then be dragged back out. She knew that the sea would bring him in again, so instead of swimming out into the water she ran around the rocks yelling at Danny to grab on to the rocks and hold on.

Danny's grip on the rock was just failing when Kono, now waist deep in water, reached him. It took all her strength to pull Danny over to the beach. She had to fight to keep the water from pounding, a now limp, Danny back into the rocks again. Finally, she managed to drag Danny out of the water and lay him next to Steve.

Their packs and towels were not far, so Kono ran and grabbed them, hoping that Steve, the ever ready SEAL, had brought an extensive first aid kit.

Danny was her main concern. She could see that Steve was breathing fine and even showing signs of waking. But Danny was battered and scraped by the rocks; his breathing was labored and fairly shallow.

Kono placed a rolled up towel under Danny's head, the elevation seemed to help with his breathing. Her fingers flew over Danny's body checking for breaks. Definitely some broken ribs, maybe his left arm and lots of scrapes, Kono knew Danny needed help, fast.

Her cell phone was where she'd dropped it on the beach, but when she opened it there was no service. "Damn it." Kono looked over at Steve and realised that he was looking up at her through half closed lids. "Hey boss, how you feeling?"

"My head hurts, everything's a little blurry, and I feel sick." Steve replied.

"Yeah, well you have a pretty nasty bump on your head from where your surf board hit you when you wiped out." Kono stuck a couple of Steri-Strips over the cut on Steve's head before continuing. "I have to go back to the car to call for help, Steve. There's no cell service here."

"What? Where's Danny?"

"He's right here, Steve." Kono indicated the prone figure of Danny just besides her. "He got caught in an undertow and pushed into the rocks. I think he's hurt bad. I have to go for help. You stay put. I'll only be a few minutes."

This should not be happening. He was not supposed to die out here on a secluded beach especially on his day off. Somehow he knew that his partner was the cause of this, but at the moment he couldn't remember why.

There was a voice close by that he managed to identify as Kono's but he couldn't understand the words. Another voice, Steve's, murmured a reply then silence.

Every part of his body hurt, and he found it difficult to breathe. He had to remember what had happened, why he was lying here, but his mind was foggy. Then he remembered and it all played out in his head like a dream. Steve! But if Steve wiped out, how come he's the one that's hurt?

Steve gave Kono the barest of nods as he looked past her at his partner. Kono didn't wait for anything else as she took off running up the beach towards where the cars were parked. Once there she checked her phone again, one bar. Praying that was enough of a signal Kono called 911 and asked for an ambulance. Then she called Chin and filled him in before she raced back to Danny and Steve.

As soon as Kono left, Steve closed the short distance to his partner. "Danny, can you hear me?" When there was no response he tapped Danny's right cheek and tried again. "Come on Danny, time to wake up."

Danny finally managed to open his eyes and slowly focus on Steve. "You okay?" he croaked then gave a wet cough.

"Yeah, I'm good." Steve replied as he rolled Danny slightly towards him. He didn't like the sound of Danny's cough and wanted Danny more on his side just in case he coughed up any water. "You don't look so good though, buddy."

"I don't feel so good, Steve. It's really hard to breathe."

"Hang in there, Danny. Kono's gone to get help, it shouldn't be too long." Steve could see the bruising along Danny's left side and figured there might be broken ribs in there. "Don't move around too much, I think you have some broken ribs."

Kono returned just as Danny started coughing again. "Kono help me lift him up, he's lying too flat, and that's not helping him breathe."

Steve, with Kono's help managed to raise Danny to a reclined position, against Steve's chest. It eased his breathing somewhat.

As they sat waiting for the ambulance to arrive, Kono used some of the antiseptic wipes from the medical kit to clean the abrasions on Danny's body. The coughing spells were becoming more frequent and lasted longer. Steve and Kono shared a concerned look when Danny finally succeeded in expelling some water. "He must have inhaled some water, Steve." Kono said worriedly.

Before Steve could reply, Danny started coughing again, this time he couldn't stop and he curled in on himself as the pain in his ribs doubled. Suddenly he couldn't breathe at all. No air would reach his lungs no matter how hard he tried and the world started to grey out.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Thanks everyone for the great response to this story. I really didn't think it was very good, but rewob17 and Topazicatzbeth did, so you have them to thank that I actually posted it. Anyway, this is the last chapter, so enjoy.

**Chapter Two**

The wail of the ambulance siren abruptly stopped as the vehicle came to a halt beside the black Camaro in the beach parking lot. The two paramedics grabbed their kits and ran for the three figures on the beach as one waved frantically at them.

"He can't breathe," Kono told them as they dropped down besides Danny. "I think he breathed in a lot of water."

The paramedics immediately got to work. One produced an oxygen mask and a small tank of oxygen, while the other pulled out a stethoscope to listen to Danny's lungs.

Danny's breathing easy slightly as soon as the oxygen mask was placed over his mouth and nose, but it was still shallow and erratic.

The paramedics worked quickly to secure IV access and stabilize Danny for transportation. By the time they'd splinted his left arm, just in case, and Kono had finally talked Steve into letting his partner go, Chin had arrived.

With Chin's help, Danny was loaded onto a gurney and moved to the back of the ambulance. Steve tried to get in with Danny but the paramedic wouldn't allow it. "Another ambulance has been dispatched to pick you up, Commander."

"It's okay," Kono said, "I'll drive him in."

Five minutes later the ambulance was speeding down the road towards the hospital with a red Cruz, lights flashing, and a motorbike, in hot pursuit.

At the hospital, Danny was whisked away and Steve was forced into an exam room. It took all of Chin's calm and patience to keep the SEAL from tearing through the hospital looking for his partner.

Eventually Steve was admitted to the hospital for an overnight stay because of a grade 2 concussion.

Kono filled Chin and Steve in on exactly what happened and they all realised that Steve had been lucky Danny had reached him so quickly, or he could have drowned.

It was four hours before a doctor came to tell them about Danny. Steve had fallen into a fitful doze, but he was awake instantly when the doctor introduced himself as Dr. Reid.

"How's Danny?" All three teammates asked as one.

"Detective Williams will recover, given time. We had to perform a bronchoscope exam and removed a fair amount of water from his lungs. That should alleviate the risk of secondary drowning. He has a fracture to his left ulna and three broken ribs." Everyone released the breath they'd been holding. "As I said, he'll recover, in time."

"I want to see him," Steve demanded.

"We knew that would be your first demand, Commander." Dr Reid acknowledged. "Please be patient, your partner will be moved in here, with you, soon."

"Thanks, doc," Chin said as he shook hands with the doctor.

A few minutes later Danny was wheeled into the room. Once he was settled and the curtain around his bed opened, Steve got his first good look at his partner.

Danny still had a nasal cannula under his nose, an IV line in his right hand, a monitor charting his heartbeat, a heavy bandage on his lower left arm, and he was awake.

Kono moved over besides Danny and took his right hand in hers, careful of the IV. "You scared me Danny." She said quietly. "Don't do that again."

"Sorry, Kono, didn't mean to." Looking past Kono, Danny locked eyes with Steve. "Are you alright, babe?"

"Am I alright? Yes, I'm alright, Danny. It's you we've all been worried about." Steve said in exasperation. "Why did you get off your board? You should have just paddled to the beach."

"Thanks, Danny. I appreciate you saving my life. Oh, don't mention it, Steven." Danny paused for a breath. "You idiot, we were too close to the rocks. Paddling wouldn't have been fast enough. Maybe I should have just left your ungrateful ass to drown then I'd not be in hospital, again, because of you." A coughing fit seized Danny as he finished his rant.

Steve instantly felt guilty. First for causing Danny to rant and start coughing, then for taking out his frustration at the situation on the one person he was so concerned about. Before he could apologize to his partner, a nurse had swept into the room, brought by the spike in Danny's heart rate, no doubt. She closed the curtain around Danny's bed and shooed Kono out. Doctor Reid soon entered and spent some time behind the curtain.

Chin, and Kono, almost had to sit on Steve to keep him in bed. They knew guilt was eating at him for what he'd said, but they needed to let the doctor finish with Danny before the partners could settle this.

Eventually Dr. Reid came out from behind the curtain and walked directly over to stand beside Steve. "What did you say to him? He needs to stay calm while his lungs heal from his near drowning. Do you not have any sense? I've a good mind to move him out to another room."

"No, doc, please, let him stay here. I promise I won't upset him again." Steve pleaded.

"Alright, I'll leave him for now; he doesn't want to go anyway. I've given him a sedative so he'll sleep for the next few hours. I suggest you try and do the same." With that Dr Reid turned and left the room.

Kono walked around the curtain and approached Danny's bed. He was turned slightly onto his right side, a pillow behind him for support, and he appeared to be asleep. She stroked the hair out of his face and placed a kiss on his forehead. Taking his right hand in hers, again she spoke quietly to Danny. "I'd like to thank you for saving Steve, Danny. He didn't mean any of what he said. You know that? He was just so worried about you." A slight squeeze of her hand told her that Danny had heard, but he made no attempt to open his eyes or answer.

The nurse came back into the room and opened the curtain. She moved over to Steve, "Concussion check time for you." She said. Once that was done she looked at Chin and Kono. "Time you two headed home. Visiting hours are over." At Chin's nod she left.

Kono kissed Danny's forehead again then moved over to Steve and did the same thing. "Don't give the nurses a hard time Steve. See you in the morning."

Chin put his hand on Steve's shoulder and caught his eye. "You can sort everything out with Danny in the morning, Steve. He's not mad at you or he'd have let Dr Reid move him. So rest and we'll see you tomorrow."

Steve nodded, "Thanks guys." Chin was right he couldn't do anything right now, not while Danny was asleep. But when he woke, then he'd make things right again.

It was early morning when Danny started moving restlessly in his bed. Steve was awake as he'd just had a concussion check not that long ago. When he heard Danny murmur, Billy, no! Billy, come back. Steve knew Danny was having a nightmare about his best friend Billy's drowning so many years ago.

In a matter of seconds Steve was up, out of bed, and beside his partner. "Danny, it's alright. Billy's not here. Wake up, Danny."

But Danny just became more restless, reaching out his right hand as if to grab a hold of something, or someone.

Steve caught hold of Danny's hand and again tried to wake him. "Danny, come on wake up, it's Steve."

"Steve?" Two cloudy blue eyes opened and eventually focused on Steve. "Why are you holding my hand, Steven?"

"Because you were having a nightmare and wouldn't wake up. Billy's not here, Danny." Steve ran a hand over his face, but he didn't let go of Danny.

"I heard him, Steve. When the undertow had me and smashed me into the rocks. I heard him call my name." Danny was wide awake now, but he made no move to disengage their hands either.

"It was probably Kono you heard, she told me she called out to you." When Danny said nothing, Steve continued. "Listen, I'm sorry for upsetting you earlier. I was just so worried about you and I know it's my fault that you're here, again"

"No. I was wrong, Steve. It's not your fault. I know I like to blame you whenever I'm injured, but this time it's all on me." Danny gripped Steve's hand tighter. "I'm just so glad that you're okay. For a while there I was afraid that if I didn't reach you in time that you'd drown like Billy."

"But you did reach me, and I'm eternally grateful for that, Danny. I'm sorry you got hurt saving me though." Steve sat down on the side of Danny's bed, still holding onto his hand. "But don't you ever scare me like that again."

Slowly, Danny pulled up and the partners hugged. "I love you." Steve said.

"Love you too," Danny replied. As he lay back down, Danny chuckled. "That was a strange wipeout babe. Can't wait to tell all your surfing buddies how you just fell off your board."

"Danny." Steve warned menacingly.

"Hey, injured man here." Danny smiled. "Go back to your own bed and let me sleep. I'll be good, but I can't say the same for Kono. You know she was filming you, right?

Steve shook his head. He was not going to win this battle and he knew it. So with resignation he left Danny to sleep and moved back to his own bed. If Kono had a video, then sooner or later, everyone would see it. Steve smiled, that wouldn't be so bad. The main thing was that they were all okay, or at least would be soon.

**The End**


End file.
